Description:

Williams Renault Laguna 97/4
 

We are very proud to offer for sale what must be one of the most significant cars from the 1990’s BTCC Supertouring era, and indeed one of Renaults most important race cars ever to bear the diamond insignia. .

This is one of four chassis built by Matter GmbH for Williams Touring Car Engineering Ltd for the 1997 BTCC. For 1997 the works Renault drivers were Alain Menu , and Jason Plato. Each driver was assigned two chassis, 97/2 and 97/4 for Menu, 97/1 and 97/3 for Plato. It is not known exactly which cars were used by each driver for each round of the championship, as no records were kept by the team, however this car which we offer for sale is one of the two chassis driven by Menu to win his 1997 BTCC title. (the other, 97/2 is owned by Renault France and kept in their museum)

In 1997 Swiss ace Alain Menu absolutely dominated the season; crushing the opposition with 13 pole positions, 12 races wins out of a possible 24, podium positions in 9 of the remaining 12 races, and only one DNF in the entire season, finishing on 281 points out of a maximum possible 360, well clear of his nearest rival Frank Biela in second place on 171 points, with team mate Jason Plato taking third place on 170 points. Menu also won the RAC Tourist Trophy in October at Donington Park. This car was also entered and raced at the 1997 Bathurst 1000, qualifying second, and leading the race until  a pitstop on lap 99,  however the car was retired on lap 114 with a driveline failure. The car still has the quick fill dry break fuel system installed, which was fitted just for this race.

As well as winning the drivers title, this car also contributed to Williams winning the 1997 Teams Championship, and Renault winning the 1997 Manufacturers championship. At the end of the season the car was sold, and run in the 1998 BTCC in the Independents Cup, driven by Tommy Rustad, by DC Cook Motorsport, with support from Williams. Tommy won the 1998 Independents Cup. So two drivers championships in two years, as well as contributing to the teams and manufacturers championships make this a very significant part of BTCC history. When the current owners purchased the car, they ran it at the Goodwood FOS in 2006, just a couple of gentle runs up the hill, nothing more. The car has never been raced in anger again since.

When purchased by the current owner in 2006, it had just been fitted with a brand new Sodemo engine, built to 1999 specifications. Also included is an extensive spares package, including several sets of wheels, suspension parts, brake discs, radiators, driveshafts, body panels, lights, Hewland gearbox case, starter motor, electrical parts, seat insert (Rustad) plus a large amount of documentation including parts manual, build manual, technical drawings, magazines and articles.

Supertourers are very undervalued when compared to their contemporaries, and it would be a fair assumption that the values of these cars will climb significantly in the coming years. More so for such an important car from this era.

A rare opportunity to own such an icon, this would be at home in any collection or museum, or could be raced again in the various historic championships around the world. The car is presented in an excellent unrestored condition in its 1997 BTCC championship winning livery. Engine has recently had fresh oil, coolant and fuel, and has been run up, and car would require very little effort to get to a race ready condition.

Car can be imported into the UK under heading 97. 05 (collections and collectors’ pieces of historical interest), where customs duty is nil, and VAT is charged at an effective tariff rate of 5%.

This car is located in New Zealand, and we can ship this anywhere in the world.  NZD$330,000 / €200,000

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